The invention relates to a method for controlling at least a heating element, in particular a heating element of an electric cooking and/or baking device, using at least an electric temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the heating element and/or the temperature of a body or surface heated by the heating element and for automatic switching off or switching on the heating element or reducing the electric power supplied to the heating element when a switching criterion relative to the temperature measured by the sensor is reached.
The invention relates to a circuit or circuit layout for controlling at least a heating element, in particular a heating element of an electric cooking and/or baking device, with at least an electric temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the heating element and/or of a surface heated by said heating element and with electronics for switching on the heating element or reducing the electric power supplied to the heating element when the temperature measured by the sensor reaches and/or exceeds a temperature threshold value.
“Heating device” according to the invention generally refers to devices, in particular also such devices for household and/or commercial use, which feature at least one electrically operated heating element. Heating devices according to the invention are therefore especially, but not exclusively, devices for cooking and/or baking, in particular also electrically operated stoves.
Especially for electrically operated stoves or the cooking fields of such stoves, in particular for glass ceramic cooking fields, a method is known in the art (WO 03/007666) of controlling the respective electric heating element with a circuit layout that features control electronics and safety electronics (fail-safe electronics or circuit). The control electronics and the safety electronics are both associated with a temperature sensor, which is located directly beneath the surface (glass ceramic cooking field) and heated by the respective heating element, in order to measure as accurately as possible the temperature of the surface (glass ceramic panel) heated by the heating element. In the safety electronics the signal provided by the temperature sensor is compared with a fixed temperature threshold value, so that if the temperature measured by the corresponding temperature sensor reaches a value of 650-750° C., the heating element is automatically switched off by means of a main switch, for example by a corresponding relay. The known circuit layout assumes that a fixed temperature threshold value is necessary for reasons of safety. As a result, in particular with cooking and baking devices and especially with cooking fields, an optimization of the heating times is not possible, i.e. the heating times can be unnecessarily long.
It is an object of the invention is to present a method for controlling an electric heating element of a heating device that eliminates this disadvantage.